My First Year
… after getting sober . Or losing 210 pounds . Or leaving an abusive husband . Five women ( and one man !) tell Kimberly Bonnell their roller-coaster stories .
… After I Lost My Job
natasha Nyanin , 31 , worked as a health scientist in Atlanta — until July 9 , 2015 , when she got a call : “ Your contract is terminated .”
The lady on the other end of the phone said , “ Don ’ t come in tomorrow .” I asked her to repeat herself I was so shocked . Later I cried , out of fear , frustration , worry , abandonment . I had worked there for seven years and was surprised at how dispensable I was , even if I had suspected I might be dismissed — people had been let go over the years .
At the beginning I had days when I felt deep down that everything would work out ; then I had moments when my soul felt as though it had been injected with lead , and I could not get out of bed . My visa was running out — I ’ m from Ghana — and I had an apartment I could no longer afford .
I checked LinkedIn constantly and contacted friends to circulate my résumé , but I had to postpone my job search while my green card was being processed . I picked up odd jobs , like being an extra on a TV set and dog sitting .
For my thirtieth birthday my friends threw me a black-tie party . It was a glorious evening . I was surrounded by people who loved and believed in me , celebrating in the midst of a shit storm ! That night I felt pure exhilaration and gratitude .
Their support helped me take a gamble on a whim : I moved to New York City . The first month was hard — I was sleeping on a friend ’ s air mattress . For two months after that , I subleased a room in Brooklyn while I searched endlessly for a job . And
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